Diamonds and Dreams by Rebecca Paisley

Author:Rebecca Paisley
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: historical romance, duke romance, regency romance, humorous romance, rebecca paisley, lisa kleypas, eloisa james, teresa medeiros
Publisher: Teresa Medeiros

“Saber, we’ll—”

“I’ve got to look for her! She—”

“You take your coach, I’ll take mine. We’ll—”

Saber never heard the rest of what Addison suggested. He raced from the house, slamming the front door behind him as he left in search of the girl whose welfare depended on his finding her.

Before someone else did.

Chapter Thirteen

“Itchie Bon,” Goldie murmured down to the dog, “I think we’ve found the street that leads to hell. I don’t know how we got to this place, but we sure did take a wrong turn somewhere.”

Revulsion snaked through her as she stared at her surroundings. Here the streets were not as clean as they were near Addison’s house. Filthy didn’t even describe them. Rotting garbage was piled everywhere, and Goldie noticed no one cared about having to step around it. Some people trudged right through it, and one woman was even huddled in it for warmth against the chilled morning mist. The air was filled with a cacophony of human voices, animal screeches, and rolling wheels. All around her were tall buildings, painted black by the greasy smoke she could see, smell, and taste. It seemed to her that the sunshine couldn’t find a way past it. She decided her conjecture was correct when she saw no living plant growing anywhere.

Carefully making her way around a heap of fish heads, she tapped a young girl on the shoulder. “Can you tell me where I am?”

The girl frowned, then smiled. “Ya ain’t from ’ere, are ya, miss?”

“I’m from America.”

“I knew it. Yer speech ain’t the same. Some says I’m dumb, but I ain’t. Me name’s Rosie Tetter, miss. I has sixteen years in me, an’ I gots all me teeth.”

Goldie returned the girl’s smile, looking dutifully into Rosie’s open mouth. “And what have you got in your basket, Rosie? Are you sellin’ flowers?”

Rosie laughed. “Farthest thing from it, miss,” she answered, lifting the rag that covered the basket.

Goldie’s eyes widened; she took a step back. “Great day Miss Agnes, that’s dog mess!”

The girl nodded and adjusted her black leather glove. “Been collectin’ it since dawn. It takes a long time ter find this much pure. Ya’d think with all the dogs ‘ere in London-town it’d be easy, but it ain’t.”

Goldie frowned, tightening her hold on Itchie Bon’s leash when he began barking at a stray cat. “Pure?”

“I ‘ear tell it purifies. The tanners in Bermondsey buy it an’ use it ter make leather soft.”

Goldie glanced at the full basket again. “I’ll swannee, that’s the strangest thing I ever heard in my whole life.”

Rosie nodded in agreement. “I didn’t used ter be the pure finder in me family, I didn’t. Me grandfather was. But ’e passed away a few months ago, an’ now I’m on me own in the world. I got two jobs, I do. See?” She pulled open her apron pocket so Goldie could see inside.

Goldie peered into the pocket, seeing what looked to be about fifty or sixty cigar ends. “Do you smoke those?”

Rosie laughed and swiped at a lock of limp brown hair.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.